KAKINADA: In a bid to bring down the infant mortality rate and to ensure newborns get essential nutrients, the superintendent of the Government General Hospital at Kakinada Dr Venkata Budda has made a proposal to the State government for setting up a Mothers’ Milk Bank at the paediatric department.
Sushena Health Foundation, a non-profit, has expressed willingness to establish the bank at an estimated cost of Rs 50 lakh. The GGH attends to 40 to 45 deliveries on a daily average, and around 20 to 25 babies require neonatal intensive care, said Dr MS Raju, head of the department of paediatrics.
“Forty to 45 per cent of mothers could not provide milk due to various reasons. The department arranges substitutes for such babies,” he said. Mothers’ milk banks play an important role in cases where a newborn requires emergency medical care and the mother could not accompany the baby.
To establish such a milk bank, a 1,500 sq ft area is needed, besides required infrastructure and staff. The NGO will also arrange for counselling to create awareness on donating breast milk. Dr Budda said the milk bank would double as a Comprehensive Lactation Management Center (CLMC), giving mothers a chance to donate their excess milk.
“We expect the bank will be a boon in the treatment of neonatal cases and we are looking forward to a positive response from the State government,” Dr Budda said. There are more than 18 human milk banks around the country. Breast milk would be easily digested and it provides all nutrients to babies. Sushena has set up India’s biggest bank, Dhaatri Mothers’ Milk Bank, at Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad.